Bang Bang Baby, drama adaptation of Marisa Merico’s memoir Mafia Princess released on Amazon Prime today

Today marks the worldwide release of the first five episodes of Bang Bang Baby, the new Italian-language original drama, on Amazon Prime. The series is inspired by the true story of Marisa Merico, daughter of a powerful Italian mafia family.

Marisa’s memoir Mafia Princess was published by HarperCollins in 2010 before being optioned by Wildside Productions/The Apartment for Amazon Prime. The crime drama, set in Milan in the late 1980s, tells the story of “a shy, insecure teenager who becomes the youngest member of the mafia, not for money, ambition or the desire of power, but to win the love of her father”. The drama premiered to critical acclaim at Cannes Series earlier this month.

Marisa is the daughter of Emilio DiGiovine, who was in charge of a 100-strong gang involved in murder, drug dealing, smuggling and gun-running for over 30 years in crimes which stretched across the world. She’s the ex-wife of Bruno Merico, Emilio’s most trusted lieutenant in international drug deals and in brutal gang battles at the heart of the Italian Mafia across Sicily, Calabria and Milan.

When the DiGiovine family were brought down by the police, Marisa refused to say a word about the family’s crimes, choosing instead to observe the sacred code of silence. Saying nothing saw her sent to jail for four years. But now, after years of freedom, she has decided to speak out about her life in the Mafia. She has gained a degree in criminology and gives talks to a wide variety of audiences.